Red

This is a total rebuild of our team. Scrapping all of the old (can we please get rid of Modrak?), and moving to acquire as many choices for the future. In many ways, it is refreshing. Prior regimes simply tried to deny the reality of the situation, while the marketing department did a fantastic job of hoodwinking the citizens of WNY and Southern Ontario into spending top dollar on an inferior product over the years. This is a refreshing change of pace to admit that there is a problem. Kinda sounds like some AA meeting: "The 1st step in recovery is admitting that you have a problem." The Bills are admitting to their futility this decade (remind me why Modrak is still employed), and changing the false starts with hopefully good picks in the future. Short term pain for long term gain. That's what the Lynch trade was. Atleast I hope so. As long as we are not drafting players with Modrak and Co.'s scouting information.

Sorry for the confusion- but I am attempting to add to your point. I agree. I'm not disputing the effectiveness of anabolic agents- they DO work. What I am disgusted with is how far we have gone from sports as having meaning, and professional sport being all about drugs, money, and personal gain.

Well, if you are talking about the team status overall, then I would agree with you. But if you are mentioning the players I quoted as poor, I think that would be wrong on your part. What I don't like is that most of our talent is tied up in the secondary. Any team with a modicum of success has talent spread across the board- not concentrated solely in one position. I don't agree. Our secondary is on an island. We have no pass rush. A great secondary like ours would be incredible with a respectable pass rush. We don't get turnovers because opposing QB's are under no pressure to deliver the ball. The secondary can't stick to receivers all day. At some point, either we will get to the QB or the coverage will break down. In our case, it's the latter. If we can't get a QB in this draft, we have to get a pass rushing, offensive disrupting, DE.

The Raiders are changing, though man. They are getting better. Gradkowski is a solid QB. I thought so a couple of years ago. Just like Jeff Garcia. I think both QB's could have helped us when they were available. But the Bills did nothing. With the exception of Wood, Spiller, Williams, McKelvin, McGee, and Bryd, I would say the whole team is tradeable. Maybe we could trick the other team to take Modrak in the deal, and we'd be in great shape in no time.

Well, he's already had a domestic situation with some "reality" slut personality down in So Cal. Tia something or other? Totally roided out. Oh, and he has already been suspended by the NFL for being caught using PED's. Not a good combo. Dude, 'roids mess with your head. Hormones have direct effects on your emotional state. All a doubter need do, is go online and look up any endocrine disease. Look up the symptoms of low testosterone. You start seeing things like depression, irritability...Now flip the coin. Too much can do the same thing or worse. Give you inflated sense of self-worth, confidence, and ability. Kinda like beer muscles, only without the alcohol. I long for the days when sport was natural. I don't see us ever going back to that, now that the devil is out of the bag. Professional athletes are juicers. Only the dumb ones get caught.

When the cheering stops, it sure sucks to come back to reality. Well, that, and the roid rage...

Here is my problem with your answers: 1.) If Modrak has been so successful in previous regimes, then how can you account for his failure here? He has had 10 years, and how many Pro Bowlers has he been involved with selecting? 1- Marshawn? Who is no longer with the team? We have had 3 different regimes. THREE!! That means Donahoe, Levy, and now Nix must all be thinking Modrak's input is worthless. 2.) If nobody listens to him, why keep him around? 3.) Where are our GM's, coaches, etc getting their scouting information from. Ok, so let's say Modrak said Brian Cushing is better than Maybin. Or Ngata is a better fit than Whitner. The decision makers- as your contention is that Modrak has no say in pulling the trigger- then follow their own plan and draft who they want to fit their need at the time. BUT WHERE ARE THE DECISION MAKERS GETTING THEIR SCOUTING INFORMATION FROM? The coach does not have the time, nor does the GM. That's why they have scouts in the first place, to compile the information on players to submit to the powers that be in order to make informed decisions. Now, if that information if fatally flawed because of inferior scouting, then it would seem rationale that the scouting department and the man in charge of said department must be in need of a serious overhaul. IF he is so heralded as you speak, I can't see 3 regimes disregarding his advice. And if nobody listens to him, then he should not be earning a paycheck. Furthermore, no matter who is pulling the trigger, the "trigger pullers" are getting the information from somewhere. Last time I checked, Modrak's title is Director of Scouting. 4.) Do you honestly think that the Bills product is talented? Heck, everybody's favorite miser, Ralph Wilson, has come out recently and several times throughout the past decade and stated that the team is just not talented enough. Who's responsible for that? Who is doing the scouting on the players we eventually select? Sure, you can blame a decrepit Levy. But that is 1 regime. Modrak has now worked through 3. Yet the product on the field has remained eerily familiar. No, Modrak's tenure should be brought to an abrupt end with the Bills. He has proven nothing. So he scouted McNabb. Yippedty-do-da. McNabb plays for the Redskins. What has Modrak done for the Bills (other than handicap the franchise with poor scouting reports)? I completely agree. I don't understand the comments made by Polian- then whom is Polian suggesting is responsible for the poor scouting? Bottom line: if the scouting were any good, the players we currently have would be developing. Players taken 4-5 years ago would now be emerging as starters. A core group of guys would be formed. Chris Kelsay is part of the Bills "core"? Seriously? What part of talent are we missing here? I love these Modrak defenders who claim, "he's not the one pulling the trigger". then if nobody listens to him, he does not have value. And where are the decision makers getting their scouting information from? If the Bills choose Whitner instead of Ngata (boner move), then Whitner had best be the most fantastic safety out there, or the scouts are failing the franchise. Looking at our roster, and with the exception of Wood and Spiller, where are our emerging stars? Future Pro Bowlers? That is perhaps the most frustrating thing for me in this bottom out- there is nothing to even get excited about from a future impact player point of view. The horizon is bleak. Desolate. Its the job of the scouting department to meet the needs of the team and front office. 3 regimes, multiple player turnover, coach turnover, and even GM turnover this past decade. Our scouting department has had little to no such change, yet the on-the-field product remains the same. Are the Modrak lovers really this blind?

I just love those Super Bowl Bills colors and helmet logo.

Maybe you guys can help me here, but wasn't Poz an outside linebacker at Penn State? If so, he was a stud in college, and if that were his more natural position and given our woes at OLB (sorry, Kelsay and Maybin just don't cut it) why don't we put him back?

You know major, I keep thinking this on Game days. Especially watching our beleaguered 'D' these past few years. Just knowing the physical pounding you are about to take, just for your offense to screw it up by turning the ball over, or going 3 and out...it is really something. It goes beyond physical talent. I would say personal pride is the only thing that can keep these guys going in this dreaded time of the Buffalo Bills. But it has got to be a tough mind game to not only get yourself ready for the game, but once the game has started and the beat-down has begun, to keep your head in the game must take so much work. Too mentally draining for most mere mortals, I can tell you that. To take your analogy further, it's like going into your job everyday, only to be beaten to a pulp by Mike Tyson, then to know that you'll have enough time to go home, ice up, rest some, and then come back in a few days for another beating. If it wasn't for their salaries, I'm sure most would quit. You sir, are a genius! I could not have said it any better myself. Tom Modrak must go. The scouting department must be entirely cleaned out. Overdorf and Littman must be demoted to handling contracts only and scrubbing toilets on the side. All the players (except Wood, Jackson, Spiller, Evans, Parrish, Williams, Moorman, Lindell, McKelvin, McGee, and Bryd) should be sent packing.

Good point, Promo. Then you find those gems like college backup Tom Brady or 3rd round pick Joe Montana. With following the NFL now for some 20 years, I'm starting to come around and agree with the experts like Bill Polian. He has been interviewed many 'o time and stated that finding a franchise QB is more about luck than anything else. Hmmmm....isn't there a QB out there named Luck.....

I hope not. We don't need anymore steroid users...

Vince Lombardi. Bill Polian. Johnny Unitas.

You saved yourself from my wrath with your last sentence, bud. Believing Ralph to place Gailey on the hot seat when he is only working with the supremely incompetent job Tom Modrak has done for the past DECADE is extremely foolhardy. One has nothing to do with the other. Now, firing Modrak would go a long way to establishing the Bills draft picks to that of success again.

I agree. I think Littman and Overdorf are responsible for that, as they helped convince Ralph that the overspending ways of John Butler were killing the franchise. The problem is, that now the same 2 money men have been handicapping this franchise for 10 years straight. Throw in the inept Modrak, and this team has no future.

Sad, but true. For the past few years, even my choices seem better. Haloti Ngata I thought was a no-brainer. Brandon Pettigrew. Rob Gronkowski. Brian Orakpo. Michael Oher. I don't pretend to be anything close to a professional scout, but we have done horrible for 10 years now. Selecting the players I just mentioned would have us in a better position than having selected Maybin and Whitner.

I created a post about this topic, which nobody seems to care about. After awhile, you have to stop with the cliches, and look at the truth. Maybe the reason why the players are always out of position, can't get off blocks, and are "shocked" when they get on the field is because they are not talented enough. I mean, a roster full of 3rd stringers can study their tails off; but come game day if they are still a bunch of 3rd stringers on the roster they are going to get pummeled by the other teams starters.

Ah, because he was just hired? Maybe because he had absolutely nothing to do with building this train wreck? I mean, I don't think it fair to hand the man a steaming pile of poop and ask him to turn it into the Taj Mahal, do you?

THANK YOU!!!! I am so happy more fans are starting to wake up around here. If Modrak is overruled so often in the draft room, then why is he employed? His opinion thus is not valued enough to be listened to, and therefore he has no value. And where are the coaches and GM's getting their scouting information from, if they are listening to the recommendations of Modrak. Isn't his title Director of Scouting? Therefore, would not the onus once again fall on Modrak for providing poor scouting information on the players we eventually do select? Which would then make him fireable yet again. It is a great mystery as to why he remains. The Modrak apologists will insist "he is just not being listened to". What nonsense. You don't pay a guy to be the Director of Scouting then don't listen to anything that he says. Not only that, but we have had changes at GM, head coach, and all positions on the field in the past decade (well, except for Moorman and Lindell). I can see where, maybe, MAYBE 1 regime was not listening to Modrak, but 3+?!!!??!? There is absolutely no way that 3 regimes don't listen to their own Director of Scouting on draft day. Bottom line: as long as Modrak remains employed in his current position for the Buffalo Bills, we can have 32 out of 32 1st round draft picks and we will strike out on all of them. But hey, what the heck? Modrak is good for that 1 or 2 occasional undrafted free agent find.

Ok. Easy, action. Easy.... Alot of knuckleheads still fall asleep at night clutching their Losman jerseys, and I just wanted to be sure you were not one of them. Relax... o, you're basically stating that skill set determines where he is placed? That's my point, exactly. Traditionally speaking, the faster, streakier Wide Out goes on the outside and runs deep to stretch the field. The #1 does it all. Conceding that Evans rarely goes over the middle is proving my point. He does not do it all like a true #1. And before you get your panties in a bunch, remember that I think Evans is a very good WR. I'm not saying that he sucks. I'm just saying we would be much more successful if we had a true, #1 WR and could use Evans more according to his ability to stretch the field and use the sidelines. Ah, don't get too full of yourself hot shot, Reed was up for selection last year, and before we get all excited about the Hall of Fame one has to realize that is as much a popularity and political contest as it has to do with the merits of a player.

Seriously? This has got to be one of those "look at the controversy posts I can create" ala a Jason Peters thread or a bring back Losman thread. This is Nix's and Gailey's first year on the job. This is the mess that they inherited. How are they responsible for not wanting to eat a crap pie? Where you should more rightfully be pointing your trigger is at the man who has sat at the helm of our poor drafts for the past decade: none other than Mr. Tom Modrak. I don't see how Modrak gets a pass from the poor drafts, lack of on-field talent, and terrible scouting that has gone on this decade.

That's actually a really good point. Who can Ralph trust? Clearly, he has been trusting Littman, Overdorf, and Modrak to the detriment of the team. If he axes these guys, who comes in to fill their stead?

Oh c'mon. Is this another high round draft pick, scouted by Modrak and Co. that was just cut? I'm getting sick of this. Why is Modrak not cut?

Does anyone else find this ridiculous? Today at the Bills website, Whitner (go figure) and other players on the Bills (Wilson, etc) think that talent is not the problem; being out of position, missing assignments, not studying long enough, or (I love this one) being "shocked" at actually being on the field to not be aware of what is going on around them is why they keep losing. I did not include a link because, quite frankly I don't know how, but if you go to the Bills site you can find the Whitner link on the home page. Here's an idea: the reason why the players are out of position, missing assignments, not getting off blocks, etc is BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT TALENTED ENOUGH! Phew. Had to get that out.

And if I may add, that when Butler left, the Bills were truly in a contract quandary. They were paying for players whom were no longer on the roster, and had alot of "dead" money not going to the success of the team on the field. In comes Tom Donahoe, and I think Wilson got weak and relented to Littman and Overdorf- ultimately giving each more power than they deserved. Now Donahoe is long-gone, but Littman and Overdorf still have control as part of the "trust". These 2, along with Modrak, are hampering the team from developing anything. It won't matter who is the GM, head coach, or QB. Ralph got scared after Butler left. I think it was Overdorf and Littman that scared him into being led to believe that overpaying for an underachieving roster is the way for a small market team to go.